This course will help you ‘up’ your game and develop the advanced level skills and techniques that elude even some of the most experienced virtual teachers. We will examine the pitfalls beginning teachers run into and learn how to overcome them by focusing on the fundamentals that have the greatest impact on student learning in a blended or online environment. Throughout the course, you will be challenged to assess your own skills and apply what you are learning by creating a guide, assignment, or resource that you will be able to use in a class that you teach or hope to teach someday soon. By the end of the course, you will not only have a better understanding of the basics, you will be able to put them together like a pro and empower your future students to be voracious learners who are ready to go out and make the world a better place to live.
Upon completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Meet your students' needs and craft a better virtual learning experience for them
2. Set up the learning environment so you get to know your students and they get to know each other
3. Personalize learning by providing feedback using a variety of online tools
5. Identify at-risk students and employ effective strategies for teaching them
6. Compare and contrast online and face-to-face learning communities
7. Apply strategies to make virtual courses more human

From the lesson

Week 4: Rebounding for At-Risk and Underperforming Students

Your course is underway, the discussion boards are buzzing with activity and your students are working diligently to produce some exceptional work. Watch out! If you are not actively searching for students hanging out on the sidelines or hiding under the bleachers, you may be forfeiting the greatest joy of your career. This week is going to be a little different. We are going to turn our focus to the students who are often lost, ignored, or troubled. We will define who an at-risk student is, examine some effective strategies for teaching students who are at-risk and we will hear from some educators who know how to help them rebound and score.